


lifetimes

by Nyxierose



Series: ficmas 2017 [1]
Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 02:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12901692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyxierose/pseuds/Nyxierose
Summary: The pre-series NYC reunion, from Jocelyn's perspective.





	lifetimes

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on tumblr @electricbluebutterflies.

She knew Luke  _probably_  wasn’t dead, but six years of radio silence did make her a little worried, okay? Like, there were a couple broken promises mixed in there, and somewhere along the line Jocelyn decided that it didn’t matter what had happened to him. If he was alive, and that was a hell of an if, then he’d probably figured out he could do better than her wreckage and...

She’s in a brooding mood today for some reason, distracted enough that she doesn’t hear someone knock on the apartment door. Or her kid open it, breaking every safety rule they have in one action. At this point in the game, Jocelyn is more worried about Clary surviving the mundane world than the strange supernatural fates that await her, and that in itself is more of a challenge than expected. Clary is extremely curious about everything and latches onto people seemingly at random, and those two traits alone are enough to make Joss worry. So much like herself when she was younger, and she’s got the scars from how _that_  ended, and-

“Mom!” Clary yells. Not a scared yell, mind, more... happy, almost. “Someone wants to see you!”

Shit. Not _already_. There’s no time to grab any of the weapons Joss has creatively hidden, no time for any kind of defense, and if this is the end of all things...

She walks into the front room, head high like a queen about to be executed, and is pleasantly surprised by the figure standing in her doorway. Not what she expected, certainly, but she knows he’s no threat to her or her daughter.

“Luke,” she breathes, first time she’s tasted his name since they separated and-

“If you want me to go...”

“What?! No. I... I have questions, but... it’s so good to see you.”

She clears the space between them and pulls him into an embrace, presses her body against his and breathes in his still-familiar scent. His arms gently wrap around her waist and it’s one of the best moments of her life so far, standing her with the other half of her heart and-

“Mom? Who _is_  he?”

As much as she hates to do it, Jocelyn pulls back just enough to glare at her daughter. “This is Luke. He’s... a friend. He’s the best person I’ve ever known.”

Later, they’ll have to figure out how to explain their relationship to a six-year-old. _Also_  not something Joss was planning on doing today, or ever, but apparently that’s on her to-do list now. Ah well. Worth it.

“I thought something had happened to you,” Luke breathes. His face is so close to hers, so damn close, and she’s half tempted to close that distance too and-

“Same,” she replies, choosing instead to rest her head on his shoulder. Rules still apply, she reminds herself, and keeping her daughter innocent means that PDA with someone of a different species is kinda risky, and-

“But you’re here.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” He shifts their position a little and brushes his lips against her forehead and oh, he _knows_  what he’s doing to her and the worst part is she doesn’t mind at all. “I want to do what we planned on, Joss. I want to take care of you.”

“That’s gonna be a little hard considering I have an _extremely innocent_  small child, but... we can figure it out. Maybe not the full daydream right away, but at least parts of it, if you can wait for the rest?”

“I’d wait lifetimes for you, Joss. You know that.”

“Still good to hear you say so.” She takes a deep breath, pushes back just a little bit. “So how long have you been in New York?”

“Couple days. I know this isn’t a great idea, but... could I stay with you for a little while? Just until I make better connections with the pack here.”

Not a great idea is kinda an understatement in her opinion, but it’s _Luke_ and she’s never been able to say no to him. And besides, a brief teaser of the domesticity they probably won’t actually get for another decade could be fun.

“Just don’t transform in the apartment,” she mutters. “If you’re still here for aftermath, we can lie and say you have the flu, but... I’m keeping her safe, Luke. She’s not gonna know what you are for a _long_  time. Can you live with that?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Then you can stay.”


End file.
